To live in interesting times is a curse, according to Chinese tradition. Across the UK, those working in the voluntary sector are probably too busy to work out whether they should feel blessed or cursed to be involved in a period of quite startling change.

After years of being patronised and ignored, it has come as something of a shock to discover that Tony Blair believes the voluntary sector should help in the development of the Third Way - not least because nobody can quite work out what that will involve.

As Charles Woodd, national director of Community Matters, the body representing groups that run community centres, says: "It's wonderful to work with a government that is so much more positive and seems to listen to what we have to say. But it imposes great demands - especially when resources are tight."

Next week sees the launch of the latest stage of a project that offers a chance to face up to those demands.

Starting on December 8, in the small hours of the morning, Voluntary Matters will be transmitted on the BBC's Learning Zone. It is the only training broadcast aimed at the voluntary sector. Through six half-hour programmes, a 40-page back-up booklet and a dedicated website, Voluntary Matters provides free training.

It is produced by the Media Trust, with funds from the National Lottery Charities Board, Camelot Group, Unison, the home office active community unit and Lloyds TSB foundation. At the heart of the concern over training is the government's commitment to encourage more of us to give up some of our time. What started as the sweeping call for a "giving age" in one of Blair's messianic speeches to the Labour party has in government been transformed into the doctrine of the "active community".

The Voluntary and Community Unit at the home office has now been re-named the Active Community Unit (ACU). It has already begun putting money where its policy goals are: £1.8m for the "120 project" - a scheme that aims to get us all volunteering more by doing for voluntary service what Comic Relief did for the cause of overseas aid; and £200,000 for the new digital Community Channel being launched by the Media Trust next spring with a promise to turn viewers into doers.

But the prospect of thousands more people offering themselves as volunteers fills some with alarm. Norrie Murray, of Volunteer Development Scotland, says: "It's easy to think that volunteering opportunities can be created rapidly, but my experience is that that is not the case. Organisations need training and support to help them work with volunteers. You need special skills. How do you manage someone who doesn't have the motivation of a wage packet at the end of the month?"

Ben Kernighan, head of the Voluntary Sector National Training Organisation for England, also sees other pressures increasing the need for training - for example, the government's welcome determination that voluntary organisations play an active role in partnerships with commercial organisations and local authorities.

One recent survey of smaller voluntary groups across London showed that a third had identified skills shortages but had not been able to do anything about it. More than 80% said lack of money was the main reason; 65% said lack of time was also a key factor.

It was for this reason that Voluntary Matters was created. The first series was first shown on the BBC in 1997. Since then, it's been on twice more. Earlier this year, the back-up booklet had to be reprinted to meet demand.

Caroline Diehl, chief executive of the Media Trust, is convinced that the formula of a free training resource which you can record then use in your time at your own pace is the key to the project's success. "We've known for years now that there is a real demand out there," she says. "Volunteers and staff from the 500,000 community and voluntary groups across the UK have been recording and watching our programmes on BBC2 - despite the 5am slot.

But it is becoming clear that the demand for training is beginning to outstrip what the Voluntary Matters project can deliver. The Media Trust is trying to respond. As part of its Voluntary Sector Open Learning initiative, the trust hopes to develop distance learning materials, including videos, CD-Roms and booklets focused on specific training needs. The materials will then be delivered in a whole variety of ways, with an increasing emphasis on the web and digital television, through the new Community Channel.

But the cornerstone will remain the partnership with the BBC.

"Digital and new media offer enormous opportunities to offer more content, interactivity and availability, but mainstream analogue will remain crucial over the next 10 years," says Diehl.

 Simon Gallimore is executive producer of the Voluntary Matters series for the Media Trust.